An art Journal from FULL TILT BOOGIE

Here is the other art journal I made as a part of Mary Ann Moss's Full Tilt Boogie Class.
This was a bit different from the one I showed you last Sunday but not too different.  Just using up more "precious" supplies!  It is easy, I have found,  to hoard those supplies for the perfect project.  Thankfully Mary Ann Moss keeps coming up with more ways to entice me to use them.


This is an old ledger book I found at a flea market.  I covered the front and back cover, but left showing the upper and lower corners because I liked the look.

In this view you see the signatures. They are sew together as I did in the other journal.

For the many signatures I used up scrapbook paper and also some of the pages from this old ledger.  It makes it more interesting I think to have a mixture of papers to look at as you page through.

This book was used on a trip I took a couple of summers ago.  I broke it up into sections and included pictures, souvenirs, and commentary on the trip.  The ledger papers made good spaces for writing while the decorative papers were good backgrounds for the pictures.  One thing that I have learned about my self while doing this is that the more variety of pages the better I like it.

I am not going to show any of the layouts because most show friends who might not like to have themselves shown here.  But you can probably get an idea.  Or  better still, take one of Mary Ann Mosses classes.  They are inspiring and will encourage you to come up with your own style.

I probably won't have anything to show for this new class until sometime in January.

If you find yourself interested in these classes visit Mary Ann's blog to learn more and how to sign up.        http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/dispatch_from_la/    There are links on her pages to each of her various classes.  And no she is not paying me to do this.  I just love her classes so much and want to share the info.

Getting Ready for A Ticket to Venice

Last Sunday I told you about the upcoming class I will be taking called A Ticket to Venice.  It is still a couple of weeks away but wanted to keep my promise of showing you work I did on another Mary Ann Moss class called Full Tilt Boogie.
This was making a journal learning to sew signatures together to create the book.

Here are a few pictures of the first journal I created in the FTB class.

 I used an old journal cover.  Added some floral scrapbooking paper and used some vintage fabric and buttons to make the binding.











I then created 8 signatures out of paper from scrapbooking supplies, old pages from empty journals, water color paper and what ever else I had on hand at the time.

 I decided I wanted to create a photo album out of this journal, using pictures of my home, my gardens, my cats and some pictures I had taken on some of my travels.
Here are a couple of layouts I created from shots from my garden.  In the first one I added some cute little cards with butterflies and flowers.  Inside the cards I wrote commentary on the pictures.  Sort of makes it interactive.

The second spread shows some pictures of my garden taken one spring.

Come back next Sunday for a look at another Full Tilt Boogie journal I created.

Hope seeing these will make you curious about Mary Ann Moss and her classes and maybe make you want to sign up for one.

A Ticket to Venice

Wow, you say, "A Ticket to Venice."   I wonder if she is going there.  Well only via the web.  I have just joined another one of Mary Ann Moss' fabulous journal classes.
This time she is taking us all with her on a trip to Venice and we will be making a journal as she goes along.  Click on the link to find out about the class.

http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/dispatch_from_la/ticket-to-venice-class-information.html

     
The class won't begin until the middle of December so in the mean time I will show you some of the projects I have completed from some of her other classes.   Today I will show you the first one.  On Sunday of next week, I will show you the second class and what I did with that one.
 The first class I took was called Remains of the Day.  In that journal you used papers you find such as mailing envelopes, fliers and or what ever.  And I used a lot of scrapbooking paper that was sitting around unused.  It was also done using the sewing machine instead of glue.  For someone who likes to sew that was fun although sewing on paper instead of fabric was an interesting change.  The journal I made is full to overflowing since I made a lot of signatures and also participated in a swap with class mates where I got a lot more!
Here are a couple of pictures.  I am pretty sure somewhere on my blog there are more detailed pictures.  Click on the search for travel journals maybe.

a close up of some of the signatures

  

The overflowing finished project

I will admit if you like journals that are neat, clean plain pages, this might not be for you.  But if like things overstuffed, filled to the gills then this is perfect.  AND fun!!!


AND because I was so inspired by making my own journals/books I even made a travel journal for my self for my trip to Maine and Canada this past summer. Click on the link below to see what I made.

                                               MY TRAVEL JOURNAL

If you decide you are even a bit interested you should check this out.  Google Remains of the Day and Full Tilt Boogie and you will find a lot of other folks love the classes too.
The great thing about these classes is that she supplies all sorts of videos, ideas, inspirations, and graphics to use.  You will be able to join a yahoo to group to be able to ask questions, see others work and just enjoy the class and students.  And you will finally use up some of those art supplies, papers and even fibers that are just sitting around awaiting the perfect project.

Hope to see you in class.

My travel journal

Before I get on with telling you about the new journal I wanted to share this picture of a ground hog (or sometimes called a woodchuck)  that visited our yard the other day and was caught eating an apple that had probably fallen from the apple tree.  I did show this on my facebook page but if you aren't on that you still get to see it. He is much cuter than he deserves to be!

I finished a second journal using the techniques I learned in Mary Ann Moss's Full Tilt Boogie journal class.
Here it is!!

 And here are a few signatures I put in the book.  I am using mostly scrapbooking paper cause I have way too much, some journal pages from this original journal and a few water color pages.  Nothing real wild as it isn't really my style.

The 1/2 pages will get things added to them as well.  I like having different size pages.  It makes it more fun when looking through the book.  Since it is a travel journal I will be adding pictures AND brochures and the like that I pick up on the way.  And commentary of course.  This book will be started soon as I have collected up pictures and such from past journeys and they will go in first.

Although doing these journaling classes with Mary Ann Moss (Full Tilt Boogie and Remains of the Day).  I have really gotten  into book making but believe it or not I actually took a bookmaking class a number of years ago.  It was more traditional.  Only did one small book but I learned the techniques.
Here are some pictures of it.   Although it has been 15 plus years since I made it I have just left it on the shelf to "admire" but now I realize I had best start using it. 

The technique used was adding signatures and sewing them together.  Then we used heavier  paper for the cover and the tabs.  These aren't the best pics but I hope you get the idea.

  Not as "exciting" as the full tilt boogie style.  So that is why I prefer the FTB style and will probably continue to do it


Now, what kind of journal shall I do next.

The Hardware Store is my new craft shop

We live in a vast wasteland when it comes to shopping....  no craft shops, no Kohl's or Target. no book stores. You would think we live way out in the country.  Not so.  Just no decent stores......  Wal-mart pretty much is it.
We usually have to shop for things when we travel, or I go on line.

But we have SEVERAL  hardware stores AND Lowes and Home Depot.  So..........  I am learning to shop in those places for some of my crafting supplies. I guess the powers that be think we need those stores since we have so many.  But we aren't intellectual enough to need a bookstore...or creative enough to need craft stores,  we are after all only a small college town........  hmmmmm!!!!!!!

Yesterday, thanks to an "enabler" on my Full Tilt Boogie group I headed off to Lowe's to buy some interesting tape that I will be using in the art journals I am making by the Full Tilt Boogie method and the Remains of the Day method.  The tape, called EASY JOINT TAPE looks like the ribbon called "sequin waste".  It is made up of a LOT of holes.  It is self adhesive which is good....... And not to be wasteful, the backing will also be used for something as well. I can picture painting it and pasting it down. Or using it as a stencil.

My husband said he tried to use the stuff a number of years ago for its real purpose when he was putting up new drywall  in our home in Maine.  He said it didn't work for that at all...  LOL..... but it will work for what I am planning!  Too bad he didn't save it.  That was only about 20 years ago......

I won't be around here for a few days but I hope to have something to show, eventually, concerning the way I use it.

I also bought some twine while at Lowe's to use to crochet a European style string shopping bag.
Here is a pic of one I found on line so you will know what I mean.

Here are the directions I found on line:  Directions For String Bag.  I got them from a blog called
Crochet: the Extraordinary Realm.     So if you decide you need to make one, here are some directions AND you know you can find the twine at Lowe's or Wal-Mart for that matter.  Also the pattern called for Ace Brand Parcel Post Twice that you could get at an Ace Hardware Store.

I got a comment from someone about this post concerning shopping in local hardware stores and how much better they are.  Well my husband and I do shop at the locals as much as possible but sometimes they don't have what you need...........  or they cost way too much.   My husband went to the local hardware store and they had a 1/2 pint of lacquer for 9.98.  He bought a full pint for 12.00 at Home Depot.  Now I am all for supporting local stores and do a lot however reality says that sometimes you just can't. 

I generally shop the local one first but if they don't have what I want or I know it is WAY too much off the others I go.  Enough said!

Oh yes, before I forget......  click on this graphic for a great giveaway.

So, that is it today.  Got to get on with my day!!!!

A yummy dinner and my Full Tilt Boogie Journal

I did finally put my first Full Tilt Boogie journal today but before I show that I will show a quick picture of our dinner last night.

We lived in Puerto Rico for three years and learned to like several of the more typical fare.  One thing we learned to enjoy was Plantain...  a type of banana unlike the ones we are used to here in the US.  There are recipes for using it when it is not yet ripe... and when it is VERY ripe.  That is our favorite.  You wait until it is nearly black.... then slice like french fries and deep fry it.  Very sweet.  So we had that for dinner last night along with deep fried Tilapia and a pepper, onion and kidney bean melange....  Puerto Rican's eat a LOT of beans!

Here is the picture of the dinner.

But now on to the Full Tilt Boogie Journal I am making.  I started working on it a few weeks ago and remarked on it here............  Click here to read that blog entry if you want.

So by working a bit yesterday and today, in between customers in my antique shop, I managed to put the book together and am pleased.  I would not win any awards for the stitching but it fine... I will get better. After gluing and such today I will be letting it sit and dry well before I go ahead and work on it. It may not be for another week but now that the book is finished it will call out to me I am sure!!!

A couple of weeks ago I went through my digital photos and arranged to have print copies made at out local CVS drugstore.  I will use some of those pics in the journal.  I will include pictures of the garden in winter and summer and the birds and animals that visit as well as some pictures of our cats.  It will just fill up as I feel inspired.

The book I ended up using was not one I showed in the first blog entry.  This was an old business journal I found at a local flea market for $1.00.  I added a piece of scrapbook paper to the cover, to cover up some messiness.

So here are the pictures.

 The next three pictures show some of the pages.  Some are full pages, some are just strips to which I will attach pictures.  Others are blank for journaling.  Or what ever. I used mostly scrapbooking paper, some journal pages and some blank water color paper.

 And after I was almost finished I found these nifty buttons in a vintage button box from my shop.  The little flowers in the middle are mother of pearl.  I really liked them and think they are perfect for my book.

Here is to Mary Ann Moss for another great and inspiring class!

Full Tilt Boogie

If you have been following my blog for awhile you know that I seem to jump from one interest to another. I also like to take on line art classes.  A while back I took a class from Mary Ann Moss called Remains of the Day and have done two different journals using her methods.  Here are the links to the pages I did about this class:
http://agardenersart.blogspot.com/2009/12/altered-art-and-christmas.html
http://agardenersart.blogspot.com/2009/12/continuing-with-remains-of-day-project.html
http://agardenersart.blogspot.com/2009/12/we-are-going-to-have-white-christmas.html


She is now preparing a new class called Full Tilt Boogie.  Click on that title to go to her blog to learn about it.  She hasn't gotten around to doing the full description or the price yet but I will be there when it begins in June.

I have picked up a couple of antique picture albums on Etsy and have already a collection of cabinet cards from the era.  A while back I did some altered work on some.... Click here to see the pictures of them.

Here are pictures of the two photo albums I bought.  I imagine they won't look like this eventually.

 And here is a picture of a couple of pages in the above book.  they aren't in great shape but after I learn Mary Ann's techniques they should be great.

This class won't be started until some time in June,  so won't have any more reports until it does but thought some of you might like to check it out.